“Sora?” he said softly.
“No!” she shrieked suddenly. “No, no, no!” She broke away from the group and ran back into the corridor they had come from.
The rest of the party was as surprised as Bred, and could only stand around gaping. “Nezla, what’s the matter with her?” Bred asked.
“I don’t know,” the engineer admitted. “I’ve never seen her act that way before.”
Their guide rumbled down an inquiry as to whether their fellow was all right. “I don’t know,” Bred said, shaking his head. “Let’s go see.”
They walked back into the corridor. Sora was standing fifteen meters from the entrance, her body pressed tightly against the wall as though she wanted to melt into it. Her fists clenched and unclenched against the smooth stone surface of the wall, and her body was still trembling. Her breathi
